Christmas Clogs!

I couldn't be more pleased with these clogs! How do you like them? (They are still wet, and stuffed with washcloths, to hold their shape while they dry.) These are made with the Fibertrend’s Felted Clogs pattern, in Cascade 220.

I started out making a simple pair of blue and purple clogs. After one of them was completed, I thought.... hhhmmmm... and went to my most fave Yarn Store and asked Emily to help me pick out another color, and voila! Perfection! So - I bought more of the purple, and made two pairs of two color clogs – one is a woman’s small, and one is a woman’s large.

The little octopus thingies are really easy - cast on 20 stitches in a cable cast on, then immediately cast off. Move the last stitch to the left hand needle, and cast on 18, then cast off, then 16, and so on, until you get to 6, then cast on 5, then 4. Switch colors along the way, if you like. Of course, you can do any number combination that you like, but this is how I did it. The “fingers” will be in a row, from longest to shortest, sort of like a fringe. Then, curl the base so that the whole thing looks like you want it to, and run the tails of the yarn through the base in such a way that it holds a more-or-less flower shape. Then, felt with the clogs.

When knitted, they curled so nicely, due to the cast-on and cast-off being a bit different in tension, but when felted, they came out completely straight. Bummer. So, when they were still wet, I twisted the fingers really hard, and let them dry. When I sew it all together, I'm going to put some stitches, here and there, to sort of hold the curl in place. I hope that they stay looking like silly, curly thingies.

I hope that the recipients are happy, too. This was such a fun project.

You want to know what I'd do differently in the future? I'd knit the tops of the clogs in one color, the outer sole in another color, and the inner sole in a third color, and this would be simple – just buy three different balls in three colors. Or, make them two-color clogs, like you see here, but with RED inner soles. How about big felted flowers, instead of the curlie whirlie thingies? These clogs also knit up nicely in stripes. If only I could sit around and knit all day long!

These are knitted with Cascade yarn - my new fave - it is so soft, for times when you don't want to felt, but gosh, it felts really nicely, too. It comes in SO MANY colors. Click Click Click - that's my brain coming up with more ideas - click click click.

Guess what? I'm going to be teaching knitting classes at Emily's store. I'm so excited! My first class will be a workshop about Continental knitting *and* magic loop, and a whole lot more, because, you know, I have a lot to say on the subject, lol. As I sat knitting these clogs, my mind whirled with ideas. Later in January, I'll be teaching a two-part class on making Baby Surprise jackets, and then, in March, I'll teach a class on how to knit my Red Tent Blanket. So, for all of you who want to knit this blanket-shawl - Come On Down! In this class, we'll discuss how to knit this shawl, how adapt doily patterns to make them shawl patterns, and how to chart flat circular items. We'll also learn how to knit on a border, my favorite way to finish a shawl. I can hardly wait. If you are interested in knowing about other classes, email me, and I can send you a copy of the newsletter. There will be classes in crochetting, knitting, wet felting, needle felting, spinning, and more!